China and Russia: closer than ever to the United States

Russia and China decided to deepen the strategic alliance that unites them to face the challenge – and the sanctions – posed by the Biden administration, determined to “return to Asia”, after the isolation promoted by Donald Trump, and to break the lances with Vladimir Poutine, who the American president qualified as “assassin” and his predecessor “of absolute leader”.

Moscow and Beijing today rejected pressure from Washington and intends to collaborate against sanctions “illegitimate” imposed by United States and its allies against Chinese officials for human rights violations in Xinjiang, measures they call “destructive tactics” of the Cold War.

“The alliance is not something new,” recalls Patricio Giusto, director of the Sino-Argentinian Observatory. China has the highest level of strategic partnership with Russia, which includes mutual defense. It’s a very serious connection, before the Biden administration. “

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For the specialist in Russian politics Andres Serbin, the alliance between the two countries “has deepened, without becoming a military alliance. Some describe it as “axis of convenience” and others as “Eurasian co-ownership”, tandem or agreement “.

Monday, in a concerted movement, United States, European Union, Great Britain and Canada announced sanctions against Chinese officials. In the case of Brussels, they are the first since 1989.

In Guilin, Guangxi, the respective foreign ministers, Wang Yi and Sergei LavrovThey agreed on the unilateral nature of the decision, which, they assured, was not based on international law.

“We have noted the destructive nature of the United States’ intentions to undermine the international legal architecture centered on HIM-SHE-IT, Trust political-military alliances from the days of the Cold War and the creation of new close alliances in the same direction, ”Lavrov said at the joint press conference.

“We reject zero-sum geopolitical games and reject the illegitimate unilateral sanctions that our Western colleagues increasingly resort to,” he added.

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The two parties, in their joint statement, also reiterated their firm opposition “to the politicization and the use of human rights issues to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, “based, among other things, on a double standard.

As always, Moscow and Beijing have avoided entering into the nature of accusations of human rights violations, relying on the principle of non-interference.

“It is unacceptable to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign nations under the pretext of promoting the democracy“, underlines the joint declaration.

In addition, the foreign ministers urged to hold a summit of the permanent members of the security Council of the United Nations, “in a period of political turmoil” where relations with the West are increasingly strained, to “establish a direct dialogue on the means of solving common problems of mankind in order to maintain world stability “.

This is one of the new aspects of this new understanding between the two countries. “This is another step in consolidating this alliance of fighting together at the multilateral level. Make common cause in the various organs of the United Nations and other international forums, ”explains Giusto.

Little enthusiasm for the new stage of Sino-US relations.

The objective is not limited to “resisting” sanctions. “There are great common interests, both military and economic, in Central Asia», Adds the professor of the UCA. “Part of the strategic convergence resides in the fact that they are complementary economies, albeit asymmetric, which have managed to jointly build an institutional framework in Eurasia to the exclusion of Washington”, recognizes Serbein.

In Moscow and Beijing, therefore, there is a common concern about Biden’s decision to “return to Asia,” as evidenced by the Secretary of State’s first tour, Antony blink, who visited Seoul and Tokyo before the bilateral meeting with a Chinese delegation in Alaska last week.

“It’s a clear message against China. But it is a rearrangement that also worries Russia, which does not want a greater presence of the United States in the region, added Giusto.

Meanwhile, China’s Vice Foreign Minister, Qin gang, summoned the British Ambassador to Beijing, Caroline wilson, to express and pronounce “a solemn protest” following the sanctions decided by London against “the alleged violations of human rights in Xinjiang”, The determination of the Chinese government to protect sovereignty, security and interests development of the country “He is unshakable”, we read in a note from the Foreign Office, in which it is assured that “the necessary and legitimate answers will be given on the British side”.

For its part, France summoned the Chinese ambassador, but the latter rejected the call for “due to scheduling problems”, the official said. French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, who reconstructed the incident.

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“Agenda problems,” he said, “I don’t think too much, it can’t work like that. Neither France nor Europe are doormats. When they summon you, when you are an ambassador, you go to a convocation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “, he said, hoping that the meeting will be honored” as soon as possible “.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Sergey Lavrov said today that Russia no longer has relations with the European Union. “There are no more relations as an organization. The whole structure of these relations has been destroyed by unilateral decisions from Brussels,” Lavrov said.

When Brussels considers that it is possible “to eliminate this anomaly, then the Russian Federation will be ready (to reestablish the link, editor’s note) on the basis of equality and a balance of interests, ”added Lavrov, during a joint press conference with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, at the end of the two-day meeting in Guilin.

Under increasing pressure from the United States, China and Russia have in recent years experienced a process of rapprochement, also cemented by agreements on trade, infrastructure and investment.

All of these factors, and the sanctions, bring China and Russia closer together than ever in their history, “something that would horrify Henry kissinger, which at the time designed the rapprochement with Beijing to contain Moscow, ”said Giusto.

“The two ‘evil heads’, from this point of view, are now coming together to face a United States which, to top it off, is weaker in relative terms than ever in recent decades”, concludes the professor of the UCA.